PHM-Exch> PHM: WHO Watch following 65th World Health Assembly; follow WHO Watch on Twitter

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: David G Legge <dglegge01 at gmail.com>


The 65th World Health Assembly takes place from 21-26 May in Geneva.  Many
of the critical issues at stake in global health governance will be
reviewed including NCDs, MDGs, Social Determinants of Health, the global
regulation of pharmaceuticals, the funding of research and development.
The on-going struggle over WHO Reform will also be resumed. ****

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WHO Watch will be present at the WHA, reporting and commenting on the
debates and engaging delegates and other civil society groups in various
ways.****

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You can follow WHA65 through WHO Watch reporting and commentary.  See
http://www.ghwatch.org/who-watch/wha65.****

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You can also follow us on Twitter by following @DavidGLegge.  ****
About WHO Watch****

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WHO Watch is a project of the People’s Health Movement in association with
a number of other civil society networks coming together as the Democratising
Global Health Governance Initiative <http://www.ghwatch.org/who-watch/about>.
 WHO Watch is a resource for advocacy and mobilisation and an intervention
in global health governance ****

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As a resource for advocacy and mobilisation WHO Watch provides a current
account of global policy dynamics in relation to a wide and growing range
of health issues. While the focus is on issues being considered through the
WHO the background documentation provides a more broadly based account of
these issues.****

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We aim to strengthen various streams in the Health for All movement (IP and
access, trade and health, health systems, PHC, quality use of medicines,
etc etc) by ensuring that activists whose concerns arise from their grass
roots involvements can learn about the global dimensions of the problems
they are facing and reshape their advocacy and mobilising accordingly.****

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WHO Watch is also an intervention in global health governance.  Partly this
is about defending WHO which has been subject to very bad stresses for
several decades.  WHO is the paramount health authority at the global level
and needs to be strengthened and reformed and properly funded to play this
role. WHO Watch seeks to generate support for a reformed WHO restored to
its proper place in global health governance.  ****

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WHO Watch also aims to democratise the decision making within WHO, in
particular supporting delegations from smaller countries.  We aim to
develop a resource which delegates to WHO governing bodies might turn to
for ideas and resources.  Our objective in resourcing this constituency is
largely about better decision making in WHO.  ****

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EB Watch and WHA Watch involve mobilising young health activists (including
IPHU <http://www.iphu.org/> alumni) from around the world (particularly
from LMICs) to come to Geneva in January and May to monitor, document,
analyse and advocate around the issues being discussed at the Executive
Board and the WHA.  The Watching includes an orientation workshop before
the commencement of the meeting to review the wider GHG picture, the
contemporary standing of WHO (and relevant background) and to explore in
depth the agenda items.  The watching includes documenting the discussion,
nightly analyses, statements from the floor, and liaison with the many
other CSOs attendng. Watchers are encouraged to liaise directly with
official delegates. ****

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Watching the regional committee meetings involves applying the same
principles and protocols at the regional level. It is complicated by the
variations in protocols for civil society recognition and attendance
between different regional offices of WHO.****

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Watching at the country level varies widely according to the different
situations within countries and local regions.  Ideally it involves
building collaborative relations between CS and WRs to promote HSS and
action on the SDH. In some cases it involves more of a monitoring and
advocacy approach.****

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The WHO Watch website aims to document current movements in global health
policy in terms of events, topics and at the regional offices. One of the
objectives of the website is to provide a resource for delegates from
countries which have limited policy resources in their own MOHs.   ****

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Critical to the work of WHO Watch are the links between the watching
processes and the various struggles for health in various districts, states
and provinces and at the national level. These links enable local activists
to keep in touch with the global policy movements which shape the context
for such local struggles.  These links also help to ensure that policy
analysis and policy advocacy at the regional and global levels is informed
by the reality of grass roots activism, both in health systems and around
the conditions which shape health.    ****

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WHO Watch acknowledges the dedicated work of the growing body of volunteer
watchers and policy analysts and is grateful for the support of a range of
funding partners.****
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